Split parish warns believers against attending FSSPX services

Father Benjamin Milković, pastor of the Holy Trinity Parish in Split’s Poljud district, issued an open letter urging Catholics not to attend Masses or receive sacraments celebrated by the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX). The warning references a decree issued on 2 July 2026 by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which declares the FSSPX bishops to be in schism and excommunicated, and states that confessions and marriages administered by the group are invalid.

In response, the Society of Saint Pius X published a full statement contesting the decree. It recalls that Pope Francis personally granted its priests the authority to validly hear confessions in 2015 and to officiate marriages in 2017, asserting that these powers cannot be revoked by a single dicastery. The Society cites canon law principles such as *Ecclesia supplet* and canon 1116, arguing that its ministers have acted in accordance with canon law and that any penalties should consider the faithful’s need for sacramental access.

The dispute centers on the canonical status of the FSSPX’s ministries in Croatia and the pastoral guidance given to local Catholics.